Lighthouses Dot The Lake Huron Shoreline
Michigan is home to more lighthouses --124 --than any other state in the nation. These aids to navigation beckon travelers and provide a fascinating view of the 19th century life on the Great Lakes. The lights appearing on this page are all found here in Northeast Michigan, each accessible via Michigan’s expansive highway network, illustrating an impressive array of beacons illuminating the Great Lake State’s 3,200 miles of coastline.
1. Gravelly Shoal Light
2. Charity Island Light
3. Tawas Point Lighthouse
4. Sturgeon Point Lighthouse
5. Thunder Bay Island Light
6. Alpena Light
7. Middle Island Light
8. Presque Isle Old Rear Range Light
9. Presque Isle Old Front Range Light
10. New Presque Isle Lighthouse
11. Old Presque Isle Lighthouse
12. Forty Mile Point Lighthouse
13. Poe Reef Light
14. Fourteen Foot Shoal Light
15. Old Cheboygan Lighthouse Ruins
16. Cheboygan Crib Lighthouse
17. Cheboygan River Front Range Lighthouse
18. Round Island Lighthouse
19. Bois Blanc Island Lighthouse
20. Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
The New Presque Isle Lighthouse towers 113 feet above Lake Huron, it is the tallest structure on the Great Lakes. Built in 1870, the tower and attached keeper’s dwelling and museum are located on a beautiful Lake Huron peninsula south of Rogers City near U.S.-23. The lighthouse features its original Fresnel lens.
A wide variety of other lights, 21 in all, are located along the Sunrise Side, each possessing wonderful views, making excellent backdrops for family picnics, outings and just plain relaxing.
Spectacle Reef Light, located off the coast of Northeast Michigan near Cheboygan, was featured on a United States postage stamp celebrating the heritage of lighthouses. This light-house is accessible by water only and is not visible from the Cheboygan shore-line.
Explore and enjoy the history, the mystique and the charm that each of these lighthouses has to offer. Many are open on a seasonal basis, others for special occasions only. All are available for photographs and visits from the public.
The attraction of Michigan’s light-houses has proven to be infectious. People from around the world come to Northeast Michigan to view the lighthouses and enjoy the experience they bring. The history behind these majestic structures is a wonderful tribute to the men and women who sailed the Great lakes during the last two centuries. The commerce that has passed beside these lights could tell stories for endless hours. Historians have spent years chronicling the lives of the light keepers. Now you have an opportunity to visit these lights and get a first hand impression of their importance to navigation on the Great Lakes as well as to understanding life as it was at the turn of the twentieth century.
Alpena hosts an annual Lighthouse Festival during the second week of October. During this event, you will find photos, histories and reenactments of life as a lighthouse keeper. You are also able to take walking tours and driving tours of the many lighthouses that dot the Lake Huron shoreline.
For more information contact one of the chambers of commerce or convention and visitors bureaus in the communities where lights are located. See Pages 64-65 for a list of these offices. What a great way to spend a week-end, exploring the majestic beauty of these lighthouses and their historic past.
Lights of Northern Lake Huron
In the days before ship-to-shore radios and global positioning systems, lighthouses were the only signposts guiding travelers on the Great Lakes. If you couldn’t see them, or the stars and the sun, you were driving blind. This tour visits the Lights of Northern Lake Huron that disappeared from view during the great storm of 1913.
The Storm
The storm began on Friday, November 7, 1913, over Minnesota. At first, it traveled northwest towards Canada, with 40 mph winds. Then, Saturday night, it suddenly turned south. By Sunday, it was a hurricane with 90 mph winds and snow. Captain James B. Watts of the Durston was headed north. He saw the “Thunder Bay” light around 1:30 Sunday afternoon and then, nothing. “The sea was coming over us from both sides. It was terrible-higher than the cabins.” Finally, around 8:00 Monday morning the Spectacle Reef Light pierced the storm, and Watts knew where he was. A man of wry humor, he noted, “The one mercy the storm showed us was to seal our hatches and for’d cabins and windows with a thick armor-plating of ice.” Most boats on the lake that day were not so fortunate. Some ran aground. Eight on Lake Huron went down with all hands.
To learn more about this adventure on Lake Huron visit www.michigan.org and discover how you can follow along the Lake Huron shoreline to get a first hand look at history. A printable tour is available on the web site. You may also stop by the Community Development Building in Alpena at 235 W. Chisholm Street and pick up a printed copy of the tour. For more information call 989.354.4181.